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Author Topic:   Virgin Orbit LauncherOne launch demo 2
Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 08-03-2020 10:32 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit
Virgin Orbit to Launch 11 Satellites for NASA on Second Launch Demo

As Virgin Orbit Nears End of Analysis of First Launch Demo Data, NASA Elects to Fly Nanosatellites on Next Test Flight

Virgin Orbit, the California-based satellite launch company, announced today (Aug. 3) that its LauncherOne rocket will carry 11 small satellites onboard the company's upcoming Launch Demo 2 mission, as part of NASA's CubeSat Initiative (CSLI). The mission is currently planned to occur before the end of the year, with Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft Cosmic Girl taking off from Mojave Air and Space Port in California.

Following the conclusion of the team's first Launch Demo, which ended prematurely due to the failure of a high-pressure LOX line in the first stage, Virgin Orbit embarked on a weeks-long investigation of the anomaly's root cause. With the investigation nearing its conclusion, the team now has a clear understanding of the anomaly and has begun implementing corrective actions in preparation for the next launch demonstration. The company released further details about that investigation and the corrective actions underway in a lengthy blog post today.

NASA was one of the first customers to sign up for a flight onboard Virgin Orbit's new rocket, purchasing a flight through a competitive selection process run by NASA's Venture Class Launch Services program (VLCS), which was designed to help open the door for future dedicated launch opportunities through new, firm fixed-price commercial launch capabilities. True to the spirit of the VCLS program, NASA has elected to fly on this Launch Demo 2 test flight. Nearly every satellite that will be onboard LauncherOne for this mission has been fully designed and built by universities across the U.S. The missions manifested for flight include:

  • PolarCube (University of Colorado at Boulder)
  • MiTEE (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
  • CACTUS-1 (Capitol Technology University, Laurel, Maryland)
  • Q-PACE (University of Central Florida, Orlando)
  • TechEdSat-7 (NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California)
  • RadFXSat-2 (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee)
  • EXOCUBE (California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo)
  • CAPE-3 (University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana)
  • PICS (Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah). This mission consists of multiple CubeSats.
  • INCA (New Mexico State University, Las Cruces)
Once in orbit, the satellites will conduct a variety of scientific studies as well as demonstrate new spacecraft technology.

"Expanding our domestic capability for small satellite launches is of great importance to NASA, CSLI, and the Launch Services Program," said Scott Higginbotham, mission manager and CSLI/ELaNa lead for NASA. "The combination of innovative small satellites and new dedicated launch vehicles like the ones we are using through the VLCS program will help unlock new ways for NASA to conduct science and to advance space technology. We are excited to be part of this important demonstration mission and to have the opportunity to put these amazing spacecraft into orbit."

Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said: "We are so very honored to be supporting NASA by flying these payloads on our upcoming Launch Demo mission. NASA's mission, coupled with the opportunity to provide a boost to space for university students, is incredibly inspiring to our whole team. It aligns perfectly with our central theme being to open space for everyone. The Virgin Orbit team is hard at work putting the final touches on our next rocket, and doing everything possible to assure a safe and successful flight."

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-12-2021 10:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
Our Launch Readiness Review is complete, our hardware looks great, and our customers are ready. We're following through on the last actions identified at our LRR. Our launch is now targeted for NET Sunday, Jan. 17, with additional windows in January if needed.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 10:38 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
With operations for our Launch Demo 2 mission already in full swing, it's an exciting morning here at Mojave Air and Space Port!

LOX loading on the rocket has begun, and we're looking good to hit our target takeoff time of approximately 10:30 AM Pacific.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 01:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update at 12:41 p.m. CST (via Twitter):
A beautiful takeoff! Cosmic Girl and LauncherOne are officially airborne for our second orbital launch demonstration.

Like our previous flight, Chief Test Pilot Kelly Latimer is the pilot-in-charge (PIC) on Cosmic Girl for this mission. Next to her in the cockpit is Todd Ericson, who also helmed the aircraft during our first Launch Demo.

On Cosmic Girl's upper deck, launch engineers Bryce Schaefer and Sarah Barnes will monitor the health of both rocket and aircraft as we fly out to the drop point, with our third LE Jason Panzarino on console down in mission control on the ground.

New Chief Pilot Eric Bippert, the latest ace addition to our flight crew, will be onboard as well as he prepares to step into the role of PIC on upcoming LauncherOne missions.

Here's what today's takeoff looked like from Mojave Air and Space Port.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 01:13 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
Our flight profile for this mission is identical to our first Launch Demo. Cosmic Girl is headed due southwest from Mojave to our drop point just south of the Channel Islands. Once there, we'll enter into a loop that we call the "racetrack" as we wait for final go/no-gos.

Ground stations scattered across the globe — in Antarctica, Baja, Mauritius, and Mojave — are primed and ready to track LauncherOne as it flies. We also have an additional antenna for telemetry on the roof of our Long Beach HQ.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 01:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
Confirming a clean release from the aircraft and a perfectly executed ignition of our main stage engine, NewtonThree.

NewtonThree has burned to full duration. Confirming main engine cutoff (MECO).

Still got a ways to go, but we just confirmed successful stage separation! This is a HUGE milestone, and the furthest our rocket has flown yet. C'mon LauncherOne!

Hearing that we've now crossed 50 miles for the first time and are still on track. Just... wow! WELCOME TO SPACE, LAUNCHERONE!

Our NewtonFour upper stage just ignited for this first time in the vacuum of space. Amazing, awesome, incredible.

Fairing halves have separated. Our customers' satellites are now directly exposed to space ahead of their deployment.

Stage two burn nominal. Two minutes to SECO-1.

According to telemetry, LauncherOne has reached orbit! Everyone on the team who is not in mission control right now is going absolutely bonkers. Even the folks on comms are trying really hard not to sound too excited.

The upper stage has shut down as planned and will coast for about 30 minutes. Then, NewtonFour will relight to circularize the orbit before we deploy our payload.

In both a literal and figurative sense, this is miles beyond how far we reached in our first Launch Demo.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 03:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
So we can confirm our NewtonFour upper stage engine successfully relit at the right time and for the right duration. The payload separation command was issued as planned. The team is going through the data now to confirm everything — but it's very encouraging. Another update soon.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 04:54 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
Payloads successfully deployed into our target orbit! We are so, so proud to say that LauncherOne has now completed its first mission to space, carrying nine CubeSat missions into Low Earth Orbit for our friends at NASA.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 06:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit update (via Twitter):
We flew today in honor of Eve Branson, matriarch of the Richard Branson family and one of our most ardent supporters, who passed away just this month. Her name is flying among the stars today. Thanks for everything, Eve.

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 45430
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-17-2021 07:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Virgin Orbit release
Virgin Orbit Aces Second Launch Demo and Deploys NASA Payloads

Virgin Orbit, the California-based satellite launch company, confirmed that its LauncherOne rocket reached space during the company's second launch demonstration today (Jan. 16), successfully deploying 10 payloads for NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP).

Virgin Orbit's novel launch system uses a technique called air launch, in which a rocket is launched from under the wing of a jet aircraft, rather than from a traditional launch pad on the ground. In addition to improving the payload capacity of the rocket, this technique allows the LauncherOne system to be the world's most flexible and responsive launch service — flying on short notice and from a wide variety of locations to access any orbit.

For today's picture-perfect mission, Virgin Orbit's carrier aircraft, a customized 747-400 dubbed Cosmic Girl, took off from Mojave Air and Space Port at approximately 10:50 A.M. and flew out to a launch site over the Pacific Ocean, about 50 miles south of the Channel Islands. After a smooth release from the aircraft, the two-stage rocket ignited and powered itself to orbit. At the conclusion of the flight, the LauncherOne rocket deployed 10 CubeSats into the team's precise target orbit, marking a major step forward for Virgin Orbit in its quest to bust down the barriers preventing affordable and responsive access to space.

The payloads onboard LauncherOne today were selected by NASA LSP as part of the agency's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). Nearly all of the CubeSat missions were designed, built and tested by universities across the U.S., including Brigham Young University (PICS), the University of Michigan (MiTEE), and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (CAPE-3).

This flight also marks a historical first: no other orbital class, air-launched, liquid-fueled rocket had successfully reached space before today.

"A new gateway to space has just sprung open! That LauncherOne was able to successfully reach orbit today is a testament to this team's talent, precision, drive, and ingenuity. Even in the face of a global pandemic, we've maintained a laser focus on fully demonstrating every element of this revolutionary launch system. That effort paid off today with a beautifully executed mission, and we couldn't be happier," said Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart.

"Virgin Orbit has achieved something many thought impossible. It was so inspiring to see our specially adapted Virgin Atlantic 747, Cosmic Girl, send the LauncherOne rocket soaring into orbit. This magnificent flight is the culmination of many years of hard work and will also unleash a whole new generation of innovators on the path to orbit. I can't wait to see the incredible missions Dan and the team will launch to change the world for good," said Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson.

With this successful demonstration in the books, Virgin Orbit will officially transition into commercial service for its next mission. Virgin Orbit has subsequent launches booked by customers ranging from the U.S. Space Force and the U.K.'s Royal Air Force to commercial customers like Swarm Technologies, Italy's SITAEL, and Denmark's GomSpace.

The company's next few rockets are already well into integration at its Long Beach manufacturing facility.

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